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HOUSING 
CONDITIONS 

IN  PLAINFIELD  AND  NORTH 
PLAINFIELD,  NEW  JERSEY 


Iff 


Published   by 

The    Anti-Tuberculosis    League 

and 

The    Charity    Organization   Society 
April,  1914. 


HOUSING       CONDITIONS 

IN   PLAINF1ELD  AND  NORTH  PLAINFIELD 
NEW    JERSEY 


r  I  ^HE  following  report  is  based  on  an 
investigation  made  for  the  Charity 
Organization  Society  and  the  Anti-Tuber- 
culosis League  in  January  and  February, 
1914,  by  Miss  Udetta  D.  Brown.  Miss 
Brown  has  made  similar  investigations 
in  many  other  cities,  including  Grand 
Rapids,  Mich.,  and  Bridgeport,  Conn., 
and  was  recommended  for  this  work  by 
the  National  Housing  Association.  Her 
report  is  printed  here  without  alteration. 


APRIL,    NINETEEN    HUNDRED    AND    FOURTEEN 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 

The  making  of  this  Survey  has  been  greatly  facilitated  by 
the  co-operation  of  the  committees  for  whom  the  work  was 
undertaken  and  by  the  assistance  of  several  of  the  city  officials. 

Special  acknowledgment  is  due  Mr.  Chandler  and  Miss 
Mattison  of  the  Board  of  Health,  who  put  at  my  disposal  the 
records  of  the  office, — thus  making  possible  a  history  of  the 
tuberculosis  situation  which  could  have  been  obtained  other- 
wise only  partially  and  with  difficulty. 

For  the  statistics  of  tenement  conditions  in  both  Plain- 
field  and  North  Plainfield,  I  am  indebted  to  Captain  Allen  of 
the  State  Tenement  House  Department,  who  kindly  supplied 
all  the  data  from  the  official  records. 

To  all  who  have  helped  with  information,  suggestion  or 
advice,  I  am  most  grateful,  and  especially  to  Mr.  Ihlder,  Field 
Secretary  of  the  National  Housing  Association,  for  advice 
during  the  investigation  and  criticism  of  the  report. 

UDETTA  D.  BROWN. 


Plainfield  and  North  Plainfield, 
New  Jersey. 

Some  twenty-five  miles  from  New  York  is  situated  the 
city  of  Plainfield,  New  Jersey,  which,  with  the  borough  of 
North  Plainfield,  has  a  population  of  nearly  30,000  people. 
Plainfield,  itself,  is  squeezed  into  a  corner  of  Union  County 
so  that  it  is  difficult  for  it  to  absorb  the  adjacent  communities 
of  North  and  South  Plainfield,  which  are  in  Somerset  and 
Middlesex  Counties  respectively. 

More  fortunate  than  many  suburban  towns,  Plainfield 
has  a  history  antedating  railroads  and  rapid  transit.  Here 
and  there,  standing  somewhat  aloof  from  the  more  sociable 
modern  houses,  are  large,  colonial  dwellings,  suggestive  of 
the  early  days  when  Plainfield  was  on  the  direct  stage  route 
from  New  York  to  Philadelphia.  The  old  Quaker  Meeting 
House  still  stands  "shingled  on  the  side,"  in  grounds  "well 
fenced  and  free  from  brambles."  Trees  that  proclaim  a 
growth  of  a  century  or  more  add  dignity  to  street  and  garden. 
These  relics  of  an  older  day  give  a  pleasant  background  to 
the  more  hurried  life  of  the  present  generation. 

The  building  of  the  railroad  has  brought  rapid  changes. 
From  the  small  pre-Revolutionary  hamlet,  with  busy  mills  and 
out-lying  farms,  Plainfield  has  grown  to  be  a  city  of  varied 
interests.  In  addition  to  the  descendants  of  the  old  families, 
it  has  now  not  only  a  commuting  population  of  considerable 
wealth,  but  an  industrial  community  interested  in  the  manu- 
facture of  tools,  silk,  and  other  products. 

This  combination  of  old  town,  suburban  community,  and 
manufacturing  centre  shows  in  the  population.  There  are 
still  many  representatives  of  the  old  families  engaged  in  busi- 
ness in  the  city,  there  are  sections  of  fine  residences,  such  as 
the  Netherwood  development,  given  up  to  the  homes  of  com- 
muters. The  factories  require  more  or  less  skilled  workmen, 
many  of  whom  have  comfortable  homes  in  the  city  and  bor- 
ough. The  less  skilled  work  of  the  community  is  performed 
by  negroes  and  immigrants.  Among  the  latter  are  many 
Italians,  Slavs  and  Russian  Jews. 


These  unskilled  immigrants  are  peculiarly  subject  to  the 
effects  of  bad  conditions.  Their  lack  of  English  puts  them  at 
a  disadvantage  in  seeking  or  picking  up  information,  their 
lack  of  knowledge  of  our  customs  and  our  country  often  causes 
them  to  accept,  as  a  matter  of  course,  conditions  of  work  and 
housing  which  are  really  below  normal.  Where  there  is  a 
large  number  of  unskilled  and  uneducated  foreigners  herded 
together,  there  is  danger  not  only  to  them  but  to  any  com- 
munity in  which  they  live,  if  these  un-American  conditions  are 
allowed  to  persist.  So  surely  as  we  do  not  instill  our  standards 
of  work  and  living  in  the  immigrant  so  surely  will  he  drag  our 
standards  down  toward  his.  The  problem  of  standards  of 
work  is  one  which  has  demanded  the  attention  of  unions  and 
similar  organizations.  The  problem  of  housing  conditions 
calls  for  community  action. 

The  first  thing  which  any  community  must  do  to  secure 
adequate  and  proper  housing  for  all  its  people,  is  to  learn 
just  what  the  present  conditions  are,  what  state  and  local  laws 
and  ordinances  there  are  to  control  conditions,  and  then  to 
devise  measures  which  will  set  decent  standards  and  stimulate 
good,  while  discouraging  bad  tendencies  in  house-building. 

To  find  an  answer  to  some  of  these  questions  and  to 
study  what  relation,  if  any,  there  is  between  bad  housing  and 
tuberculosis,  committees  of  the  Charity  Organization  Society 
and  the  Anti-Tuberculosis  League  of  Plainfield  and  North 
Plainfield  joined  forces  to  have  a  Survey  made  of  these  condi- 
tions in  the  city  and  borough. 

The  method  used  was  one  which  has  been  found  effective 
in  other  cities.  Districts  were  selected  in  which  the  conditions 
were  typical  of  the  cheaper  dwellings  of  the  community;  these 
were  studied  in  detail  and  a  record  made  for  each  house.  To 
this  was  added  a  general  survey  of  conditions  and  especially 
of  recently  erected  small  houses,  with  the  idea  of  gaining  some 
insight  into  the  present  tendencies  in  small  house  construc- 
tion. 

For  the  purposes  of  this  report,  certain  words  are  defined 
as  follows : 

TERMS  DEFINED. 

One-family  house — a  dwelling  lived  in  and  arranged  to 
be  lived  in  by  one  family  only. 

Two-family  house — a  dwelling  lived  in  or  arranged  to  be 
lived  in  by  two  families  only.  Usually  each  family  has  one 
floor,  one  apartment  being  above  the  other.  This  does  not 


include  semi-detached  dwellings  in  which  each  family  has  an 
entire  house  except  that  one  wall  is  common  to  both  houses. 

A  tenement — a  dwelling  lived  in  or  arranged  to  be  lived 
in  by  three  or  more  families. 

A  semi-detached  house  is  one  having  exterior  walls  on 
three  sides,  the  fourth  side  having  a  wall  common  to  two 
houses. 

A  row  is  three  or  more  houses  built  together,  with  com- 
mon walls  between  adjoining  houses. 


r  r  F[[[rrcM 


COTTAGE    PLACE.         ROW    OF    HOUSES,    NOT    BEAUTIFUL,    BUT    PLENTY    OF 
LIGHT   AND    AIR    IN    THE   APARTMENTS. 

One-family,  two-family  houses  or  tenements  may  be  de- 
tached, semi-detached  or  in  rows. 

City  water"  is  used  to  denote  the  supply  furnished  by  a 
private  company  but  conducted  to  the  houses  by  pipes  laid  in 
the  streets. 

Uninspected  house  (U.  H.)  is  used  in  the  tables  to  desig- 
nate those  houses  which  could  not  be  inspected,  for  any  rea- 
son. Several  houses  were  vacant,  two  were  undergoing  altera- 
tions and  others  were  closed  though  occupied.  The  number 
of  houses  classified  (U.  H.)  varies  in  the  different  tables  be- 
cause some  conditions  can  be  noted  even  though  the  house  is 
closed. 


DISTRICTS  SELECTED. 

The  districts  selected  for  special  study  were,  in  Plainfield, 
Cottage  Place,  and  West  Third  Street  between  Plainfield  Ave- 
nue and  Liberty  Street.  In  North  Plainfield,  one  district  in- 
cluding both  Harmony  and  Race  Streets. 

COTTAGE  PLACE. 

This  street  nearly  parallels  the  railroad  track  on  the 
north  as  one  approaches  the  main  station  when  coming  from 
New  York.  On  one  side  of  the  street  is  the  railroad  embank- 
ment, on  the  other  a  straggling  line  of  dingy-looking,  cheaply 


COTTAGE    PLACE.         SEMI-DETACHED    HOUSES    AND   COTTAGES. 
THE    MEN    ARE   PEDDLING   OIL-CLOTH. 

constructed  houses,  the  homes  of  more  than  forty  families. 
Most  of  the  houses  are  small  one-  and  two-family  dwellings 
with  sufficient  space  about  them  to  secure  good  light  and 
abundance  of  air.  Eight  of  the  houses,  however,  are  of  the 
semi-detached  type  and  so  poorly  planned  that  two  rooms,  of 
the  six  in  each  house,  have  no  window  to  the  outer  air.  More 
unsightly  than  these  semi-detached  houses,  but  much  better 
supplied  with  light  and  ventilation,  is  the  row  of  two-story 
and  basement  dwellings  at  the  end  of  the  street.  These 
houses  have  been  built  only  a  few  years  and  are  in  good  re- 
pair though  cheaply  constructed.  Their  worst  feature  is  the 


cellar  closet,  in  a  compartment  poorly  lighted  and  not  suf- 
ficiently ventilated.  This  convenience  is  shared  by  two  fami- 
lies, frequently  one  negro  and  the  other  white.  The  plumb- 
ing is  too  cheap  to  be  kept  in  good  condition  easily  and  the  sit- 
uation is  complicated  by  the  presence  of  boarders  in  many  of 
the  families  and  the  fact  that  the  closets  are  too  accessible 
from  the  street. 


COTTAGE     PLACE.  YARD     WATER     CLOSET     WITH 

VENT   PIPE  EXTENDING   SEVERAL   FEET   ABOVE   THE 
ROOF. 

Connection  with  the  city  water  has  been  made  for  the 
houses  on  this  street,  only  one  remaining  with  no  trap.  All 
too  frequently  the  fixtures  are  in  the  yard  instead  of  in  the 
house.  The  most  unusual  feature  of  the  plumbing  installed 
here  is  the  vent  pipe  which  may  be  seen  extending  up  the  outer 
walls  of  a  house  and  rearing  several  feet  above  the  roof.  In 
some  instances  such  pipes  have  been  included  even  in  the  con- 
struction of  yard  closets,  the  size  and  length  of  the  pipe  out 
of  all  proportion  to  actual  necessity. 


The  population  of  Cottage  Place  consists  chiefly  of 
negroes,  Italians  and  Poles.  Both  the  immigrant  peoples 
take  boarders,  probably  as  much  because  of  their  recent  immi- 
gration and  the  number  of  single  men  among  them  as  because 
of  any  economic  necessity. 

WEST  THIRD  STREET. 

Here  the  houses  are  two  or  two  and  a  half  stories  high, 
in  general.  Nearly  half  of  them  are  two-family  houses  either 
built  to  be  so  used  or  used  in  this  way  without  any  preparation. 
There  are  a  few  tenements;  these  are  newer  than  most  of  the 
houses  and  for  that  reason  it  is  difficult  to  make  any  compari- 
son. Time  alone  can  show  how  well  they  stand  the  wear  and 
tear  of  the  coming  years.  The  rest  of  the  houses  are  one- 
family  dwellings. 

There  is  at  present  practically  no  question  of  dark  rooms 
in  this  street,  a  condition  which  should  be  preserved  by  con- 
tinuing the  open  spaces  between  buildings,  and  ample  rear 
yards. 

The  lots  on  this  street  are  too  deep  for  economical  de- 
velopment. There  is  already  a  tendency  to  construct  houses 
on  the  tail  ends  of  the  lots  or  to  move  back  the  little  old  dwell- 
ings and  erect  larger  buildings  on  the  front.  Such  a  tendency 
should  be  prevented  if  Plainfield  does  not  want  to  contend 
with  the  worst  results  of  bad  housing, — vice  and  crime,  which 
lurk  in  the  hidden  places  of  every  city,  but  shun  well  lighted 
streets  and  wide  open  spaces. 

Small  business  is  coming  into  this  block  so  that  many  old 
buildings  have  been  converted  to  a  combination  of  store  and 
dwelling.  Among  the  shops  are  bakeries,  groceries,  and 
butchers.  These  last  are  an  offense  to  the  better  element  on  the 
street.  Chickens  are  killed  on  the  premises,  and,  I  fear, 
other  animals  from  time  to  time.  The  result  is  most  un- 
sanitary, as  the  offal  is  put  in  uncovered  barrels  in  the  cellar 
instead  of  being  immediately  removed. 

The  population  of  the  block  is  a  mixture.  One  or  two 
of  the  small  houses  are  still  owned  and  lived  in  by  Germans 
or  Irish  who  hold  themselves  aloof  from  their  neighbors. 
The  majority  of  the  people  are  negroes  or  Russian  Jews.  The 
latter  have  been  in  the  country  such  a  short  time  that  they  are 
still  somewhat  isolated  by  their  inability  to  speak  English. 
But  already  they  are  living  amicably  in  the  same  houses  with 
the  negroes  and  there  is  reason  to  fear  that  there  may  be  inter- 


marriage  between  the  two  races  such  as  is  found  in  the  case 
of  Italians  and  negroes,  when  they  live  in  similar  close  quar- 
ters. 

There  is  evidence  on  all  sides  that  many  of  these  people 
have  no  conception  of  American  standards  of  living;  houses 
are  unclean,  sinks  and  toilets  are  filthy.  Often  where  an  at- 
tempt is  made  to  keep  things  clean  it  is  a  failure  because  of  lack 
of  knowledge.  That  the  conditions  are  not  universal  and  that 


WEST  THIRD  STREET.  FLASH-LIGHT  PHOTOGRAPH 
OF  CELLAR  OF  BUTCHER  SHOP.  THREE  BARRELS 
SIMILAR  TO  THIS  BLOOD-STAINED,  BE-FEATHERED 
ONE,  WERE  FREQUENTLY  SEEN  IN  THIS  CELLAR. 

it  is  possible  to  live  on  this  street  in  a  decent  and  orderly  man- 
ner is  proved  by  a  number  of  apartments  which  are  neat,  tidy, 
and  clean.  Probably  the  best  of  these  is  that  of  the  negro 
carpenter  living  in  one  of  the  semi-detached  houses  near  Plain- 
field  Avenue.  The  house  is  absolutely  spotless  from  cellar 
to  attic,  in  excellent  repair  and  shows  every  evidence  of  intel- 
ligent usage. 


Rents  on  the  street  are  high  out  of  all  proportion  to  the 
cheapness  of  the  buildings,  and  the  conveniences  furnished. 
Twelve  or  fifteen  dollars  and  even  higher  was  the  rent  stated, 
although  there  are  vacant  houses  on  the  street  and  elsewhere 
in  Plainfield.  One  woman  said  there  was  some  decrease  in 
the  rents  being  asked  but  it  was  not  possible  to  verify  her 
statement. 

During  the  detailed  inspection  of  this  block  the  mercury 
fell  to  zero.  The  result  was  many  frozen  fixtures  followed  by 
bursting  water  pipes,  flooding  of  cellars  and  attendant  incon- 
veniences. In  some  cases  the  houses  were  so  cold  that  the 
women  were  afraid  to  wash  the  floors  and  do  the  ordinary 
cleaning.  The  ice  on  the  floor  of  a  toilet  compartment  in 
one  house  testified  that  there  was  some  reason  to  fear  that 
scrubbing  the  floors  might  only  produce  a  miniature  skating 
rink. 

HARMONY  AND  RACE  STREETS. 

These  minor  streets  adjoining  each  other  in  North  Plain- 
field,  have  the  small  lots  and  houses  which  under  suitable  safe- 


XORTH    PLAINFIELD. 


SMALL    SEMI-DETACHED    HOUSES    AXD    DETACHED 
HOUSE    BEYOND. 


guards  should  be  the  best  kind  of  homes  for  the  man  of  very 
small  means.  Most  of  the  houses  have  four  or  five  rooms 
and  accommodate  only  a  single  family,  absolute  privacy  being 
limited  by  the  occasional  joint  use  of  hydrants  and  closets, 


and  by  the  too  thin  partitions  of  the  semi-detached  houses, 
which  are  numerous. 

A  single  tenement  shows  that  it  is  none  too  soon  to  guard 
against  this  menace  to  right  living.  To  emphasize  the  dan- 
ger, and  demonstrate  that  such  buildings  are  bad  even  in  un- 
crowded  districts,  this  one  has  dark  rooms  in  two  of  its  four 
apartments. 

North  Plainfield  has  no  sewers,  so  the  waste  water  in 
Harmony  and  Race  Streets  is  thrown  into  the  yards  except  in 
the  rare  instances  where  there  are  cesspools  adequately  large 
lor  the  slops.  Most  of  the  yards  are  too  small  for  such  cess- 
pools. 

Several  of  the  householders  keep  chickens,  but  beyond 
this  and  small  storage  sheds  there  are  no  out-buildings.  Here 
and  there  gardens  are  found  and  there  is  no  evidence  or  talk 
among  the  neighbors  of  the  constant  stealing  of  garden  truck 
and  chickens  that  was  the  repeated  complaint  on  West  Third 
Street. 


TYPES  OF  HOUSES. 

With  rare  exceptions  all  of  the  123  houses  inspected 
were  made  of  wood.  Even  in  the  more  expensive  dwellings 
in  the  city  little  appreciation  is  shown  of  the  aesthetic  value 
and  durability  of  brick,  a  material  which  lends  itself  so  well 
to  the  type  of  house  now  being  erected  in  our  smaller  cities. 
In  recent  years  great  advance  has  been  made  in  coloring  and 
finishing  brick  and  in  the  manufacture  of  other  durable  build- 
ing material,  so  that  far  greater  variety  can  be  obtained  than 
formerly.  This  construction  has  the  advantage  over  frame 
construction  of  looking  and  being  more  substantial  and  dur- 
able. A  greater  number  of  such  buildings  would  lend  dignity 
and  charm  to  the  city  of  Plainfield. 

NUMBER     OF     ONE-FAMILY     HOUSES,     TWO-FAMILY     HOUSES     AND     TENEMENTS     IN 

EACH    DISTRICT 


Name  of   District 

Number  of 
i-Family 
Houses 

Number  of 
2-Family 
Houses 

Number   of 

U.  H. 

Houses 
Total 

_c/> 

E§ 

Families  in 
Tenements 

Cottage    Place                       

18 

20 
30 

18 

17 
3 

I 

4 
i 

3 
15 
4 

* 

I 

41 
47 

35 

West  Third   Street          

Harmony  and  Race  Streets     

Total   

68 

38 

6 

22 

II 

123 

II 


From  the  table  it  is  seen  that  in  the  Plainfield  districts, 
the  one-family  and  two-family  houses  appear  with  about  equal 
frequency;  in  North  Plainfield  the  one-family  house  is  far 
more  frequent.  These  are  often  of  the  semi-detached  variety, 
superior  to  the  two-family  house  but  lacking  advantages  pos- 
sessed by  the  one-family  house.  The  table  also  shows  the 
presence  of  tenements  in  all  the  districts  inspected.  How 
great  a  menace  the  tenement  is  to  Plainfield  is  brought  out 
even  more  clearly  in  the  following  table  compiled  from  the 
records  of  the  State  Tenement  House  Department. 

TENEMENTS. 

PLAIXFIELD 

Houses  Families  *  Population 

2  story 20  70  350 

3  story 51  211  I>°55 

4  story 16  88  440 

5  story i  8  40 


Total    88  377  1,885 

NORTH  PLAINFIELD 

Houses          Families  ^Population 

2  story 4  15  75 

3  story 10  40  200 


Total    14  55  275 

GRAND   TOTAL      IO2  432  2,l6o 


*Estimated,    5    persons   to    a    family. 

Nearly  two  thousand  people  in  the  city  of  Plainfield  are 
living  in  tenements,  with  open  fields  on  every  hand  calling  to 
them  to  come  out  into  the  sunshine  and  make  homes  for  their 
children,  where  all  the  winds  of  heaven  and  floods  of  sun- 
light will  daily  purify  the  atmosphere.  The  trees  and  wind- 
ing streams  of  Plainfield  proclaim  it  the  ideal  spot  for  a  city 
of  homes.  The  tenements  already  built  foreshadow  the  doom 
of  such  a  growth  unless  there  is  united  effort  to  preserve  the 
better  type  and  check  the  advance  of  the  unsavory  barrack. 

The  present  State  law  is  not  sufficient  to  accomplish  this. 
It  was  framed  for  cities  already  in  the  grip  of  tenement  con- 
ditions. Local  ordinances,  wisely  conceived  and  intelligently 
and  impartially  enforced,  must  serve  until  such  time  as  the 
people  of  New  Jersey  realize  the  necessity  of  State  control  of 
all  housing  conditions.  Plainfield  is  already  in  the  van.  She 


has  an  ordinance  requiring  windows  to  the  outer  air  in  all 
rooms  used  for  sleeping  purposes.  This  ordinance  should  be 
made  more  definite  and  should  he  thoroughly  enforced.  Bet- 
ter provisions  for  sanitation  and  convenience  should  be  in- 
sisted upon. 

There  is  cause  for  rejoicing  in  the  fact  that  the  small 
house  still  predominates  and  that  there  is  a  fine  opportunity  to 
prevent  the  further  advance  of  tenement  house  construction. 
This  is  most  truly  a  case  where  "an  ounce  of  prevention  is 
worth  a  pound  of  cure" — indeed,  from  the  experience  of 
other  cities,  we  are  led  to  believe  it  is  worth  many  pounds  of 
cure. 

CONSTRUCTION. 

The  small  houses  of  Plainfield  are  cheap  rather  than  inex- 
pensively built.  Initial  cost  rather  than  cost  of  maintenance 
seems  to  have  been  the  chief  consideration.  Thoughtlessness 
in  planning,  and  especially  in  the  location  of  water  pipes,  char- 
acterizes most  of  the  dwellings.  In  one  short  afternoon,  three 
cellars  examined  showed  burst  water  pipes,  due  to  placing  the 
pipes  against  the  outer  walls  and,  not  content  with  this  folly, 
the  wall  selected  was  frequently  the  one  exposed  to  the  biting 
cold  of  north  winds.  In  one  house,  the  tenant  gave  a  vivid 
description  of  her  experiences  on  the  bitterest  day  of  the  win- 
ter, when  the  water  pipe  in  her  tiny  little  kitchen-living  room 
had  suddenly  burst,  threatening  to  flood  the  only  room  in  the 
house  in  which  there  was  any  provision  for  making  a  fire. 
Luckily,  the  whole  house  slanted  so  that  the  water  ran  out  at 
the  back  of  the  house  by  way  of  the  shallow  air  space  beneath 
it.  A  less  flimsy  structure  might  have  held  in  the  sudden  flood 
but  this  sieve-like  affair  let  out  the  water  almost  as  easily  as  it 
let  in  the  cold. 

Occasionally  a  house  is  so  badly  built  that  the  walls  are 
damp  to  the  touch,  a  condition  which  may  be  accounted  for 
either  by  the  dampness  seeping  through,  or  by  the  steam  within 
the  dwelling  condensing  on  the  cold  walls.  Complaints  of 
this  condition  were  rare  although  the  temperature  was  such 
that  all  cold  weather  shortcomings  were  at  their  worst. 

Considering  the  cheap  and  thoughtless  construction  of 
many  of  these  houses,  there  were  few  cases  of  broken  win- 
dows, missing  clapboards,  and  exposed  laths,  nor  was  there 
much  complaint  of  leaking  roofs.  Indeed,  over  and  over 
again,  I  was  told  that  the  roof  had  just  been  mended  or  that 
the  landlord  would  surely  mend  it  if  it  did  leak  when  the  next 
rain  came. 


One  bit  of  negligence  is  noticeable  throughout  the  city 
and  is  not  at  all  limited  to  the  less  expensive  houses.  This  is 
a  lack  of  paint,  which  makes  the  whole  city  rather  dingy  and 
dreary, — a  defect  doubtless  less  apparent  in  the  summer  when 
grass  and  trees  lend  much  natural  beauty  to  the  country  side. 
Another  small  city  of  New  Jersey,  Asbury  Park,  might  well 
be  taken  for  a  model  in  this  respect.  Every  spring  the  paint 
pot  is  brought  out  and  at  least  the  trimmings  are  "touched  up" 
—frequently  the  whole  house  is  "gone  over."  Because  this 
is  done  so  often,  the  expense  is  never  very  great  but  the  result 
is  that  the  city  has  an  air  of  prosperity  rarely  equaled  and 
never  surpassed  in  a  "wooden  city,"  to  my  knowledge.  There 


NORTH    PT.AINFIELD.        ASHES    AND    RUBBISH    PILED   IN    THE    YARD. 

is  an  old  Dutch  saying  that  "paint  costs  nothing,"  mean- 
ing that  whatever  is  expended  on  paint  is  saved  in  deteriora- 
tion. 

GARBAGE,  ASHES  AND  RUBBISH. 

The  most  immediate,  pressing  need  of  Plainfield  is  a 
method  of  collecting  garbage  and  other  refuse  thoroughly. 
This  need  is  felt  throughout  the  city;  no  one  is  exempt.  He 
who  manages  his  own  problem  satisfactorily  suffers  from  his 
neighbor  who  is  more  careless,  thoughtless,  or  possibly  only 
more  unfavorably  situated  than  himself.  At  present  each 
householder  disposes  of  his  ashes,  garbage  and  rubbish  as 

14 


seems  to  him  best.  Several  collectors,  licensed  by  the  Board 
of  Health,  make  a  farce  of  removing  garbage  and  ashes  for 
a  small  fee.  There  are  complaints  all  along  the  line.  From 
the  negro  gardener  on  Third  Street  and  the  professional  man 
in  a  first  class  resident  section  comes  the  same  query:  "What 
can  we  do?  How  can  we  compel  the  collectors  to  carry  out 
their  bargain?"  Some  people  make  no  attempt  to  have  the 
refuse  removed  but  instead  throw  it  into  the  street  or  yard, 
a  method  of  disposal  which  is  open  to  many  objections  but  is 


PLAINFIELD.  YARD  FILLED  WITH  RUBBISH  OF 
ALL  KINDS.  BOXES  AND  BASKET  CONTAIN  ASHES 
AND  REFUSE. 

easily  accounted  for.  When  a  family  budget  of$ioor$i2a 
week  must  house,  feed  and  clothe  two  adults  and  seven  chil- 
dren, the  surplus  to  be  expended  for  garbage  removal  is  so 
small  that  the  garbage  rarely  gets  far  beyond  the  front  gate. 

If  this  method  of  collection  by  private  concerns  could  be 
made  thorough  and  complete,  there  would  still  be  objections 


to  the  practice.  The  employment  of  several  collectors  in  the 
same  street  is  wasteful  and  extravagant,  the  unsavory  carts 
are  continually  passing  through  the  streets  and  the  method 
and  place  of  final  disposal  is  objectionable. 

Conditions  resulting  from  the  present  haphazard  state  of 
affairs  disfigure  the  city;  yards  are  strewn  with  ashes;  boxes, 
cans,  and  other  receptacles,  filled  to  overflowing  with  garbage, 
litter  the  rear  porches  and  sheds.  Unsightly  as  such  condi- 
tions are,  there  is  a  greater  menace  when  sickening  odors  and 
filthy  flies  bespeak  a  long  delayed  collection. 


NORTH       PLAINFIELD.  PIANO      BOX      USED      FOR 

STORAGE.          AN     ATTEMPT    TO     MAKE     GOOD     THE 
LACK   OF   CELLAR  AND   FUEL    SHEDS. 

Many  of  the  homes  visited  show  that  even  in  the  poorest 
families  strenuous  efforts  are  made  to  dispose  of  both  ashes 
and  garbage.  The  garbage  is  usually  burned,  which  is  a  good 
solution  of  the  problem  if  thoroughly  carried  out,  but  all  too 
often  half-burned  garbage  is  thrown  out  with  the  ashes,  a 


practice  which  increases  with  the  advent  of  warm  weather, 
when  the  amount  of  garbage  increases  and  the  kitchen  fire  de- 
creases. The  ashes  are  sometimes  carted  away  but  more 
often  they  are  thrown  onto  the  lowest  part  of  the  yard  in  a  vain 
attempt  to  get  rid  of  the  water  which  always  appears  at  the 
first  suggestion  of  warm  weather.  As  for  the  discarded  bot- 
tles and  tin  cans  which  accumulate  so  quickly,  vacant  lots  and 
rear  ends  of  deep  yards  are  disfigured  with  them,  and  the 
presence  of  broken  glass  and  jagged  tins  is  a  constant  danger, 
especially  where  shoes  are  none  too  thick  and  strong. 

Collection  of  garbage,  ashes  and  all  rubbish  by  the  city 
is  a  legitimate  function  of  government.  Only  by  such  govern- 
mental activities  can  a  wholesome,  cleanly,  and  attractive  city 
be  obtained.  The  advantages  of  city  collection  are  too 
numerous  to  be  more  than  touched  on  here.  The  first  and 
most  important  is  that  such  collection  can  be  made  thorough, 
reaching  into  every  home  and  place  of  business  in  the  city,  so 
that  the  entire  community  will  be  sweet  and  clean.  Another 
aspect  of  the  subject  is  the  question  of  economy.  It  can  not 
be  doubted  that  the  city  as  a  whole  can  make  a  better  bargain 
for  this  service  than  can  the  individual  householders;  the  con- 
tractors would  plan  to  collect  from  house  to  house  without 
duplicating,  whereas  now  the  several  collectors  go  over  the 
same  routes,  causing  waste  and  extravagance,  not  to  mention 
the  almost  continuous  presence  of  numerous  unsightly  carts 
which  give  forth  the  odor  of  decaying  waste  as  they  pass 
through  the  streets.  Because  of  the  amount  involved,  the  city 
would  be  in  a  position  to  enforce  the  terms  of  the  contract  and 
to  control  the  method  and  place  of  final  disposal  as  no  indi- 
vidual can  do.  Any  effective  contract  of  this  kind  calls  for  a 
penalty  for  delay  in  collection  or  other  violation  of  the  terms 
of  the  contract.  A  small  part  of  the  time  now  spent  by  the 
Board  of  Health  in  trying  to  have  isolated  cases  of  extreme 
filth  cleared  up  should  suffice  to  supervise  the  work  of  the 
contracting  collector. 

DARK  ROOMS. 

It  hardly  seems  necessary  in  this  enlightened  age  to  point 
out  the  utter  folly  of  dark  rooms.  Those  cities  which  are 
cursed  with  them  are  paying  the  price  in  high  death  rates,  in- 
fant mortality,  and  inefficient  citizens  who  barely  carry  them- 
selves at  best  and  are  a  dead  weight  on  the  community  at  the 
first  signs  of  hard  times  or  family  stress.  That  a  place  like 
Plainfield,  or  North  Plainfield,  should  permit  the  existence  of 
dwellings  with  such  rooms  is  a  civic  disgrace.  Yet  in  the 

17 


houses  inspected,  eight  in  Plainfield  and  one  in  North  Plain- 
field  have  such  rooms.  Those  in  Plainfield  are  in  a  group  of 
semi-detached  houses  in  Cottage  Place,  which  were  originally 
built  with  six  rooms  to  a  house,  two  rooms  with  no  window  to 
the  outer  air.  The  Board  of  Health  has  succeeded  in  having 
windows  cut  from  these  rooms  to  the  hall  and  from  the  hall 
to  the  yard,  an  alteration  which  improves  the  ventilation 


PLAINFIELD.  DARK  ROOM  SHOWING  WINDOW 
TO  ADJOINING  ROOM.  NOTE  THE  UNTIDY  BED. 
A  TWO-MINUTE  EXPOSURE  WAS  NECESSARY  TO 
GET  THIS  PICTURE,  THE  LIGHTEST  POINT  IN  THE 
ROOM. 

greatly  but  leaves  much  to  be  desired  in  the  way  of  light. 
Houses  similar  to  these  elsewhere  in  the  city,  and  also  apart- 
ments in  "brick  blocks,"  show  unwholesome  dark  rooms. 

In  North  Plainfield,  the  house  referred  to  as  having  dark 
rooms  is  arranged  for  four  families,  each  apartment  on  the 
first  floor  has  one  room  with  no  outside  window,  all  light  and 
ventilation  is  through  an  adjoining  room.  Under  the  present 

18 


State  Tenement  House  Law,  houses  like  this  can  not  be  built. 
Vacant  apartments  showed  that  the  dark  rooms  are  shunned. 

Dark  rooms  are  now  prohibited  in  all  tenements;  local 
ordinances,  well  enforced,  should  secure  equally  good  condi- 
tions in  all  dwellings.  Justice  to  tenant,  landlord  and  public, 
demands  this.  To  the  tenant  because,  through  ignorance  or 
other  causes,  he  will  live  in  these  disease-breeding  spots  if  they 
are  permitted;  to  the  landlord  because  he  builds  his  house 
usually  in  good  faith  that  what  the  inspector  passes  is  all  right, 
but  if  dark  rooms  are  passed,  he  will  find  that  he  has  erected 
n  building  which  is  condemned  as  unwholesome,  and  which  can 


PLAINFIELD.       THE  SAME   HOUSE  AS  THE  PRECEDING.       LIVING  ROOM   IN   A 
WELL   LIGHTED   APARTMENT. 

not  compete  financially  either  with  well  lighted  dwellings  or 
with  apartments  in  the  neighboring  tenements,  in  which  the 
State  Law  has  compelled  all  rooms  to  have  outside  windows. 
In  at  least  two  places  it  has  been  shown  that  the  dark  room 
dwelling  has  little  chance  when  light  and  air  are  supplied  in 
near-by  houses.  For  some  ten  years  now  New  York  City  and 
the  State  of  New  Jersey  have  prevented  the  further  erection 
of  dark  room  tenements.  The  same  testimony  is  received  from 
City  and  State,  the  old  houses  have  no  chance  in  competition 
with  the  new.  Higher  rents  are  paid  if  necessary  but,  at  all 
costs,  out  of  the  dark  room  houses  into  the  light  and  air  of 
the  new  goes  tenant  after  tenant.  Lowered  rents  in  the  ill- 


made  buildings  only  slacken  the  tide,  they  neither  stop  it  nor 
turn  it.  Losses  from  frequent  vacancies  and  low  rents  have 
proved  a  powerful  incentive  for  remodelling  and  demolishing 
the  old  dark  room  tenement. 

Finally,  the  construction  of  dwellings  with  dark  rooms  is 
unjust  to  the  public  because  on  it  rests  the  burden  of  caring 
for  the  tubercular,  the  widow,  the  orphans  and  the  weaklings. 
The  dark  room  is  no  new  pest.  City  after  city  in  the  East 
has  found  by  dearly  bought  experience,  that  it  is  one  of  the 
most  potent  factors  in  the  complex  whole,  which  is  at  the  root 
of  misery,  poverty  and  crime. 

What  has  been  proven  of  the  dark  rooms  in  tenements  is 


NORTH    PLAINFIELD.       THE   WELL  IS   WITHIN    A   FEW   FEET  OF   THE    PRIVY. 
WASTE    WATER    IS    THROWN    INTO    THE    YARD. 

equally  true  of  all  dark  room  dwellings.  In  New  Jersey  the 
tenements  are  controlled  by  the  State,  a  control  which  should 
be  upheld  and  strengthened  by  all  right-minded  citizens;  the 
one-family  and  two-family  houses  are  left  to  local  supervision. 
At  the  present  time,  the  Plainfield  Board  of  Health  can  com- 
pel the  cutting  of  windows  in  the  old  dark  rooms,  under  cer- 
tain conditions,  but  this  is  a  make-shift  at  best,  improving  con- 
ditions little.  The  mistake  is  in  the  fact  that  the  Board  is 
doing  relief  work  rather  than  preventive  work.  The  most 
unguarded  type  of  dwelling  at  present  is  the  apartment  above 
the  stores  or  in  so-called  "brick  blocks."  There  is  a  tendency 


20 


to  assume  that  these  are  tenements  and  are  amply  protected  by 
the  State  law,  but  if  there  are  less  than  three  apartments  in 
any  house,  the  State  law  does  not  affect  the  conditions  there 
any  more  than  in  the  most  costly  residence  in  the  State. 

WATER  SUPPLY. 

A  company  supplies  the  water  for  Plainfield  and  for  much 
of  North  Plainfield.  So  adequate  and  good  is  the  supply  that 
almost  all  of  the  old  yard  wells  are  done  away  with.  Only 


NORTH      PLAINFIELD.  YARD     PUMP     WITH      NO 

PROVISION     FOR    CARING    FOR    OVERFLOW. 

two  houses  of  all  those  visited  in  Plainfield  are  still  uncon- 
nected with  the  city  pipes,  and  a  very  few  still  keep  a  pump  for 
use  in  addition  to  the  usual  supply.  That  old  familiar  tale  of 
the  summer  coolness  and  sweet  taste  of  the  well  water  was 
heard  again  and  will  continue  to  be  heard  so  long  as  there  is 
a  well  in  the  land.  As  a  good  water  supply  is  available  in 
both  the  districts  inspected  in  Plainfield,  the  wells  should  be 

21 


closed.  Contamination  can  take  place  quickly;  a  well  which 
has  been  recently  tested  may  be  the  source  of  an  epidemic  a 
few  days  later.  The  danger  of  such  contamination  increases 
with  the  crowding  of  population. 

The  problem  in  North  Plainfield  is  not  so  easily  solved, 
as  it  involves  the  question  of  waste  disposal  also.  Many  of 
the  houses  on  Harmony  Street  are  connected  with  the  piped 
supply,  only  to  be  overwhelmed  by  the  problem  of  the  waste 
water.  There  are  no  sewers  and  the  yards  are  frequently  too 
small  for  adequate  cesspools.  The  only  permanent  solution 
of  the  problem  is  the  installation  of  a  sewer  system.  The  use 
of  wells  in  this  district  is  especially  perilous  because  the  small 
yards  bring  the  wells  and  privies  so  near  together,  a  condition 
not  improved  by  the  addition  of  cesspools. 

Any  belief  that  this  problem  is  purely  a  local  one,  affect- 
ing only  the  tenants  and  owners  of  the  small  houses  and  lots,  is 
founded  on  lack  of  thorough  knowledge.  The  people  of  this 
district  work  in  both  the  borough  and  city.  Disease,  breeding 
among  the  cottages  of  Harmony  Street,  would  menace  the 
whole  community.  Already  the  burden  of  partial  support  of 
several  of  these  families  is  borne  by  the  public, — how  much  of 
this  debility  is  due  to  the  conditions  no  one  can  say.  The 
present  lack  of  typhoid  and  kindred  ills  in  this  locality  is  a 
miracle,  but  it  is  only  a  few  years  since  dysentery  demanded 
toll,  and  who  shall  prophesy  when  the  next  epidemic  will  occur? 

In  addition  to  the  kind  of  water  supply,  the  location  of 
the  supply  is  of  importance  to  the  health  of  a  family.  Under 
the  best  conditions,  heavy  drudging  work  is  the  lot  of  the 
poor  man's  wife,  especially  when  the  children  are  too  little  to 
help  themselves.  Inconvenient  and  awkward  arrangement  of 
sinks  and  stoves  may  be  the  added  burden  beneath  which  the 
wife  and  mother  fails  and  leaves  the  burden  of  the  family  to 
community  care. 

The  following  table  shows  how  often  this  handicap,  of 
an  inconvenient  water  supply,  was  found. 

TABLE    SHOWING   LOCATION    AND    KIND    OF    WATER    SUPPLY 


Name   of   District 

Kind  of 
Water 

Location  of  Water  Supply 

>> 

U 

"u 

•* 

<f 

"3 

K 

h 

£ 

3 

"O 

CC 

> 

T3 
•   t> 

'f* 

K 
P 

3 

£ 

Cottage    Place                 

36 
40 
20 

I 
I 
13 

20 

36 

£5 

ot 

JL 

I   t 

ot 

8* 

2* 
0* 

9 

2 
17 

O 

0 
I 

4 
6 

2 

41 

47 

35 

West  Third   Street               

Harmony  and  Race  Streets    .  .  . 

Total     

QO 

15 

71 

I  ' 

10* 

28 

I... 

12 

123 

•{•Tenement,    i    art.    has    supply,_  2  use    supply    in   hall. 
$One    in    cellar    (living    room-kitchen). 


22 


In  Cottage  Place  the  water  supply  was  in  the  yard  in  nine 
instances;  as  some  of  the  houses  are  of  the  two-family  type, 
more  than  nine  families  used  the  yard  fixtures.  Families  liv- 
ing on  the  second  floor  have  to  carry  every  drop  of  water  used 
for  washing,  cleaning  and  cooking  through  the  house  and 
up  stairs.  No  wonder  some  of  these  activities  are  sometimes 
slighted.  If  the  hydrant  freezes,  then  a  neighbor  is  called  on 
to  furnish  a  supply,  and  a  very  small  supply  it  is,  too,  as  a 
rule. 


COTTAGE  PLACE.    YARD  HYDRANT  WITH  IRON  DRAIN. 

On  Race  Street  there  is  one  family  which  must  choose 
between  going  out  the  front  door  and  around  the  house  to  the 
yard,  or  going  through  the  first  floor  rooms, — a  process  which 
deprives  the  family  on  the  first  floor  of  all  privacy. 

In  Plainfield  the  yard  hydrants  are  usually  equipped  with 
an  iron  sink  or  drain.  These  are  seldom  fixed  but  change 
their  grade  with  every  passing  storm,  sometimes  emptying 

23 


their  contents  into  the  sewer  pipes,  but  more  often  retaining 
slops  and  waste  wrater,  together  with  small  particles  of  food 
which  soon  pollute  the  air  and  attract  insects.  In  North 
Plainfield  the  overflowr  from  pumps  and  hydrants,  together 
with  the  slops,  are  usually  thrown  into  the  yards  and  explain 
the  presence  of  water  which  stands  ankle  deep  in  every  little 
hollow,  and  the  wastes  of  mud  which  make  a  veritable  slough 
of  the  rest  of  the  yard. 


NORTH  PLAINFIELD.  SWAMPY  YARD.  WATER 
IS  OVERFLOW  FROM  A  HYDRANT,  TOGETHER  WITH 
SLOPS.  THE  CONDITION  IS  MADE  WORSE  BY  A 
MID-WINTER  THAW. 

But  little  better  than  the  yard  hydrants  are  the  cellar 
sinks.  In  Cottage  Place  these  are  almost  as  frequent  as  the 
yard  supplies,  but  do  not  characterize  either  West  Third 
Street  or  the  North  Plainfield  districts. 

These  cellar  sinks  mean  one  of  two  things:  either  the 
water  is  all  carried  up  stairs  or  the  family  is  brought  down  to 

24 


the  water.  In  the  first  case  there  is  much  unnecessary  hard 
labor  for  the  woman,  which  is  frequently  done  with  a  toddling 
baby  at  her  skirts  and  perhaps  a  ten  days'  baby  in  the  cradle. 
The  cellar  steps  are  steep  and  rickety,  the  floor  rough  and 
uneven, — there  is  danger  of  tripping  in  the  darkness,  there 
is  perhaps  m'ore  danger  from  the  unclean  sink  hidden  away  in 
a  far  corner,  out  of  sight. 


COTTAGE    PLACE.        SMALL    WINDOW    IN    A    CELLAR 
KITCHEN. 

If,  by  any  stretch  of  the  imagination,  the  cellar  can  be 
considered  habitable,  the  chances  are  that  it  is  converted  into 
the  kitchen,  and  here  the  mother  of  the  family  spends  the 
greater  part  of  the  day, — the  baby,  too,  wrapped  in  a  shawl 
and  laid  to  sleep  on  the  table  or  tucked  in  the  cradle  near  the 
stove.  In  such  a  kitchen,  I  have  seen  as  many  as  four  Italian 
women,  three  dangling  babes  in  swaddling  clothes,  the  fourth 
hushing  a  mite  in  a  baby  carriage,  while  three  or  four  children 
ran  from  yard  to  kitchen  and  back  again.  Not  all  these  peo- 

25  • 


pie  lived  in  this  house  but,  in  true  Italian  style,  daughters  and 
daughters-in-law  came  frequently  to  see  the  mother  and  the 
kitchen  was  the  customary  reception  room. 

A  sink  within  each  apartment  is  the  minimum  convenience 
\vhich  can  be  permitted  with  any  just  regard  for  health  and 
cleanliness.  Such  an  arrangement  gives  each  family  access  to 
the  water  with  due  amount  of  privacy,  and  on  the  other  hand, 
makes  each  family  responsible  for  the  condition  of  sink  and 
faucet. 


NORTH    PLAINFIELD.         TYPICAL    YARD    PRIVY. 


TOILETS. 

Even  more  serious  than  the  problems  arising  from  the 
improper  location  of  water  supply,  are  those  which  result 
from  the  location  of  toilets.  Closets  which  are  in  the  yards 
have  all  the  objections  of  a  yard  water  supply  and  many 
others.  The  inconvenience  of  frozen  fixtures  is  greater,  if 
possible,  in  the  case  of  toilets  than  in  the  case  of  water  pipes. 

26 


Furthermore,  toilets  in  the  yards  are  of  a  semi-public  charac- 
ter. Enclosed  yards  and  separate  closets  for  each  family  help 
to  minimize  this  evil  but  no  precaution  can  entirely  obviate  it. 

Closets  placed  in  the  cellar  are  inconvenient,  and  almost 
always  poorly  lighted  and  ventilated,  making  it  well  nigh  im- 
possible to  keep  the  compartment  and  fixture  clean. 

Both  yard  and  cellar  closets  lead  to  the  continual  use  of 
portable  receptacles,  especially  if  there  are  children,  old  peo- 
ple, or  invalids  to  care  for.  The  conditions  resulting  from 
carelessness  in  the  use  of  these  and  the  foul  air  in  the  rooms 
where  long  unemptied  and  uncovered  vessels  stand,  beggar 
description. 

Many  cities  have  to  face  a  condition  caused  by  lack  of 
sufficient  toilets.  Plainfield  has  all  but  escaped  extreme  in- 
stances of  this  sort.  Two  places  were  noted  where  three  or 
more  families  were  dependent  on.  a  single  closet.  Two  fami- 
lies to  one  closet  is  not  a  good  arrangement,  although  a  fre- 
quent one.  The  greatest  objections  to  it  are  the  lack  of  privacy 
(for  such  a  closet  must  be  accessible  to  both  families),  the 
divided  responsibility  for  repair  and  cleanliness,  and  most  im- 
portant of  all,  the  moral  dangers  of  the  jointly  used  compart- 
ment. The  use  of  such  closets  is  attended  with  risk  enough 
in  the  day  time, — at  night  the  situation  is  many  times  worse. 
It  needs  no  imagination  to  grasp  the  dangers  of  the  situation 
when  young  girls  and  the  burly  men  boarders  have  equal 
access  to  the  yard  or  cellar  closet. 

TOILET  ACCOMMODATIONS,  APPURTENANT  TO  EACH  HOUSE,  CLASSIFIED  BY  LOCATION 

AND  TYPE   OF    FIXTURE 


Name   of  District 

Yard 

House 

W 

Total 
Houses 
Served 

£ 

u 

u 

1 

W 

Apartment 

Hall 

Cellar 

u 

Q, 
& 

Wash  Out 
Or  Down 

u 

0 

K 

Wash  Out 
Or  Down 

1 
o 

B 

Wash  Out 
Or  Down 

Cottage    Place 

o 

I 

2Q 

17 
17 
I 

O 

o 
o 

0 
12 
O 

0* 

1$ 
it 

O 

5 
o 

2°t 

I 

3 
2 

3 

5 

2 

41 
47 
35 

West  Third   Street 

Harmony  and  Race  Streets 

Total    

2Q 

I 

0 

O 

I? 

o  |    ot 

2 

2 

35 

tOne  2-family  house  has  toilet   in  hall  in   addition  to  one  ih  cellar. 
tOn    ist"  floor,    opens  to  yard  only. 

The  table  shows  a  difference  in  the  type  of  fixture  most 
often  found  in  each  district.  The  privy  is  almost  universal 
in  North  Plainfield  where  there  is  no  sewer  and  the  lots  are 
too  small  for  adequate  cesspools.  West  Third  Street  has  the 
best  conditions,  nearly  half  the  fixtures  being  of  the  wash  out 


or  wash  down  type.  In  Cottage  Place  hopper  closets,  either 
in  the  yard  or  cellar,  are  customary.  This  is  the  closet  used 
where  there  is  danger  of  freezing.  Though  cheap  to  install, 
it  is  easily  soiled  and  difficult  to  clean,  a  difficulty  which  rapidly 
increases,  as  the  enamel  wears  oft  quickly,  the  iron  base  cor- 
rodes, and  cleanliness  is  incompatible  with  use.  While  it  is 
possible  to  prevent  the  waste  pipes  of  these  closets  from  freez- 
ing, it  is  difficult.  The  flow  is  usually  turned  on  continuously 
during  the  cold  spell  and  even  then  frequently  congeals. 

RECENT  DEVELOPMENTS  IN  SMALL  HOUSES. 

In  addition  to  the  houses  in  the  districts  mentioned,  most 
of  which  have  been  built  for  some  years,  a  study  was  made  of 
some  of  the  more  recently  constructed  small  houses,  in  order 
to  ascertain  what  are  the  present  tendencies  in  building.  For 
this  purpose  the  little  houses  on  St.  Mary's  Avenue,  several 
groups  in  the  "West  End,"  and  the  two  brick  rows  on  West 
Fourth  Street,  beyond  Plainfield  Avenue,  were  given  special 
attention. 

The  dwellings  on  St.  Mary's  Avenue  are  two  stories  and 
attic  in  height,  with  three  rooms  on  each  floor.  Each  floor 
is  .rented  separately.  There  is  a  sink  and  running  water  in 
each  apartment.  The  toilet  is  in  the  cellar,  access  to  which  is 
either  through  the  rooms  on  the  first  floor,  or  through  the 
yard.  Theoretically,  the  second  floor  family  uses  the  yard 
entrance  to  the  cellar,  but  only  a  glance  at  the  inconvenience 
of  going  out  of  the  front  door  and  so  around  to  the  cellar 
door  at  the  side  of  the  house,  is  necessary  to  suggest  that  more 
often  the  first  floor  apartment  is  used  as  a  hall  way.  This 
does  away  with  the  privacy  of  the  down  stairs  rooms. 

The  same  lack  of  judgment  in  installing  the  water  pipes 
which  was  noted  elsewhere  was  found  here.  The  plumbing  is 
placed  in  the  northeasterly  side  of  the  houses. 

The  abundance  of  light  and  air  about  these  houses  is  to 
be  commended,  but  the  plan  of  the  houses  is  poor,  the  apart- 
ments too  small  for  most  families,  and  the  number  and  loca- 
tion of  the  toilets  undesirable. 

The  present  monotonous  appearance  of  the  houses  may 
be  mitigated  in  time  as  the  street  is  improved,  the  house- 
holders carry  out  some  of  their  individual  ideas  in  home- 
making,  and  time  softens  the  "newness"  of  the  dwellings. 

In  the  "West  End"  are  found  several  groups  of  inex- 
pensive dwellings.  Rows  similar  to  that  at  1335-1341  West 

28 


Third  Street  are  seen  on  many  of  the  streets  in  this  section. 
This  row  consists  of  four  two-story  houses.  Each  house  has 
four  light  rooms,  a  cellar,  a  front  porch  and  ample  yard. 
There  is  a  sink  and  running  water  in  each  kitchen,  but  a  yard- 
toilet  (this  part  of  the  city  is  not  yet  sewered).  Each  house 
is  occupied  by  one  family.  The  rent  is  $10.  These  short 
rows  of  small  one-family  houses  are  perhaps  the  most  usual 
form  of  house  going  up  for  the  use  of  the  unskilled  laborer, 
but  the  detached  two-family  house  is  also  seen.  A  number 
of  these  houses  have  been  built  on  Rushmore  Avenue,  not  far 
from  Third  Street.  There  are  separate  doors  for  the  apart- 
ments, the  cellar  is  divided,  and  each  family  has  a  sink  with 
running  water  and  a  toilet.  Unfortunately,  no  sewer  con- 
nection is  possible  here  and  the  present  arrangements  for 
waste  disposal  are  most  unsanitary.  When  the  new  sewer  is 
installed  and  proper  connection  made  with  it,  these  houses 
should  be  suitable  for  habitation.  They  are  not  as  desirable 
as  the  one-family  houses  which  have  good  yards  for  each 
family  and  offer  greater  facility  for  family  privacy.  Care 
must  be  taken  that  the  spaces  between  such  houses  are  wide 
enough  to  give  adequate  light  and  ventilation. 

Of  a  somewhat  more  expensive  type  of  construction,  are 
the  brick  rows  on  West  Fourth  Street  in  the  600  block.  The 
rents  also  are  higher — $14  or  $15  being  the  price  for  four 
rooms  and  bath.  The  houses  are  brick,  built  in  rows.  They 
are  two  stories  high  and  are  arranged  for  two  families  in  each 
house.  There  are  two  of  these  brick  rows,  one  having  apart- 
ments of  three  rooms  and,  toilet  and  the  other  having  four 
rooms  and  bath.  The  tenants  of  these  houses  are  negroes.  This 
type  of  house  is  better  than  the  unskilled  man  can  usually  af- 
ford, but  there  is  a  need  for  this  more  expensive  dwelling,  so 
that  the  man  who  can  afford  something  better  may  not  be 
forced  into  the  very  cheapest  kind  of  house. 


YARD 


COURT 


COURT 


STREET 
2Q 


TUBERCULOSIS. 

The  material  used  in  making  this  study  of  Tuberculosis 
in.  the  Plainfield  districts  was  obtained  from  the  records  of 
the  city  Board  of  Health.  Every  effort  was  made  to  check 
the  records,  both  case  and  house  records  were  used  and  oc- 
casionally even  the  death  records  were  consulted  in  an  attempt 
to  make  sure  of  the  accuracy  of  the  data.  For  the  last  few 
years  the  records  of  the  nurse  were  of  value  also.  The  city 
records  have  been  kept  since  1903.  Owing  to  the  prejudice 
against  reporting  cases  at  first,  it  is  probable  that  the  earlier 
records  are  incomplete,  but  changes  in  the  law  and  in  public 
sentiment  have  combined  to  make  the  records  full  and  accu- 
rate reports  of  the  cases  in  Plainfield.  Care  has  been  taken 
that  no  case  shall  appear  twice  in  the  report,  an  inaccuracy 
which  might  easily  occur  as  a  result  of  the  frequent  changes  of 
residence  of  some  of  the  people. 

Facts  in  regard  to  the  North  Plainfield  situation  were  ob- 
tained with  difficulty.  No  locality  there  seemed  to  have  as 
many  cases  as  the  two  districts  in  Plainfield,  but  the  cold  facts 
to  back  up  this  opinion  were  not  obtained. 

The  report  of  the  Board  of  Health  of  Plainfield  shows 
that  70  cases  of  tuberculosis  were  reported  during  the  year 
1913.  This  is  one  case  for  about  every  56  dwellings  (based 
on  the  1910  census  figures)  for  the  entire  city.  Both  Cottage 
Place  and  the  West  Third  Street  district  show  a  much  higher 
ratio;  one  case  to  about  20  houses  in  Cottage  Place,  and  one 
case  to  about  12  houses  in  the  West  Third  Street  district. 

TUBERCULOSIS    HISTORY    OF    THE    PLAINFIELD    DISTRICTS    FROM     IQO3    TO 
JANUARY    I,    1914 


Number  of  District 

Number  of  Cases  Reported 
and  Confirmed 

In  1913 

1903-1912 

Total 

Number  of 
Houses 

Cottage    Place 

if 

4* 

9 
9 

ii 
13 

41 
47 

West  Third  Street    

Total    

6t 

18 

24 

88 

fAnother   case   reported,    1913,    from    Monroe    Avenue,    moved   to    the    district   before 
the  investigation  was   made. 

These  appalling  figures  are  doubtless  due  in  part  to  the 
character  of  the  population.  A  majority  of  the  patients  are 
negroes,  the  remainder  are  almost  without  exception  immi- 
grants, who  have  not  yet  "found  themselves"  in  their  new  sur- 
roundings. 

It  has  been  said  that  of  the  general  measures  for  the  pre- 
vention of  tuberculosis,  the  most  important  are  probably  hous- 

30 


ing  and  food  supply.  Our  data  are  too  limited  to  more  than 
indicate  how  far  this  important  problem  of  housing  has  af- 
fected the  situation  in  Plainfield.  There  are  some  rather 
striking  facts  in  the  history  of  Cottage  Place, — the  eight  semi- 
detached houses  in  which  dark  rooms  are  found,  show  a  rec- 
ord far  worse  than  the  other  houses  on  the  block.  Three  of 
these  eight  houses  have  a  history  of  tuberculosis.  The  indict- 
ment is  stronger  if  we  consider  the  number  of  cases  reported 
from  the  district  since  1903.  Of  the  u  cases  reported  from 


PLAINFIELD.  A    SHANTY   ON    THE   OUTSKIRTS    OF 

THE     CITY.  THE     FATHER    IS     THOUGHT    TO     BE 

TUBERCULAR.  WHAT   CHANCE    HAVE   THE   CHIL- 
DREN ! 

Cottage  Place,  6  have  been  from  these  eight  houses,  5  from 
the  other  thirty-three  houses  on  the  street.  Perhaps  it  makes 
it  stronger  to  say  that  if  all  the  houses  on  the  street  had 
records  as  bad  as  this,  30  cases  instead  of  1 1  would  have  been 
reported  in  eleven  years,  and  a  similar  record  throughout  the 
city  would  mean  more  than  2,900  cases  in  the  same  time. 

31 


One  house  in  the  group  has  a  particularly  bad  record. 
In  1903  two  cases,  not  in  the  same  family,  were  reported; 
in  1906  one  case  and  another  in  1913.  Of  the  early  cases  one 
was  a  young  colored  woman  who  should  have  been  entering 
on  her  most  useful  years,  but  her  death  was  reported  a  year  or 
two  later.  The  case  reported  last  year  is  being  cared  for  at 
Bonnie  Burn  and  the  public  is  bearing  the  cost.  How  long 
will  houses  like  these  be  permitted  to  be  occupied,  and  the 
public  bear  the  cost  of  the  results? 

On  West  Third  Street  no  house  had  such  a  marked  tu- 
bercular history  as  those  just  discussed.  There  are,  however, 
instances  which  do  indicate  the  infectious  nature  of  the  dis- 
ease. Bare  statistics  record  the  tubercular  condition  of  a 
father  and  his  two  boys,  followed  by  the  death  of  the  father 
in  1911,  the  effort  to  help  the  sons  at  Bonnie  Burn,  the  death 
reports  of  the  brothers  within  a  few  weeks  of  each  other 
during  the  summer  of  1913.  There  is  no  record  of  the 
woman  who  fought  the  disease  first  for  her  husband's  life  and 
then  for  her  two  sons,  but  a  vacant  house  on  Third  Street 
speaks  of  a  broken  home  and  a  woman  left  alone  in  the  world. 

At  present,  Bonnie  Burn  is  caring  for  a  Jewish  immigrant 
and  his  American-born  son.  The  boy  is  in  the  incipient  stage 
and  there  is  a  chance  that  the  county  sanatorium  may  be  the 
means  of  preventing  a  repetition  of  the  tragedy. 

Last  fall  a  colored  woman  died  of  tuberculosis.  Both 
she  and  a  nephew-  lived  in  the  Third  Street  district,  but  not  in 
the  same  house.  The  young  man  went  to  Bonnie  Burn 
shortly  after  his  aunt  died.  There  is  no  proof  of  infection 
from  aunt  to  nephew  but  the  facts  are  worth  a  second  thought. 

During  the  last  five  months  of  1913  there  were  four 
deaths  from  tuberculosis  of  residents  of  this  block.  There 
are  several  patients  from  the  district  at  Bonnie  Burn  now,— 
these  not  only  have  a  better  chance  for  recovery  or  improve- 
ment, but  so  long  as  they  stay  away  from  their  families  one 
source  of  infection  is  removed. 

In  some  homes  a  patient  may  be  isolated  so  that  infection 
is  almost  impossible.  Two  factors  render  such  isolation  espe- 
cially difficult  in  the  district  studied.  In  the  first  place,  the 
quarters  are  too  restricted,  the  rooms  are  too  small  and  too 
few,  and  the  houses  often  planned  so  that  rooms  must  be  used 
for  hall-ways.  To  this  difficulty  is  added  ignorance,  a  factor 
with  which  every  doctor  must  reckon.  Nevertheless,  if  the 
proper  kind  of  a  house  could  be  obtained,  some  of  the  more 
intelligent  families  might  prove  themselves  apt  pupils  in  the 

32 


home  care  of  tubercular  patients.  The  successful  treatment 
of  this  dread  disease  in  the  patient's  home,  would  go  far  to 
raise  the  present  standards  of  living  among  the  poorer  ele- 
ment of  the  population.  Carefulness,  cleanliness,  and  plenty 
of  fresh  air,  would  work  wonders  in  most  of  the  houses  visited 
in  the  course  of  this  Survey. 

GOOD  CONDITIONS. 

Plainfield  is  fortunate  in  taking  up  the  problem  of  hous- 
ing conditions  at  this  time.  At  present  only  about  8%  of  the 
families  are  living  in  tenements,  and  in  North  Plainfield  less 
than  4%.  Many  suburban  cities  have  been  far  more  seriously 
affected  by  the  bad  example  of  New  York. 

Now  is  the  time  to  save  Plainfield  from  tenement  condi- 
tions. Other  cities  are  realizing  the  great  opportunity  and 
either  by  local  measures  or  combining  for  State  laws,  are 
assuring  healthful  living  conditions  to  their  children. 

Plainfield's  problem  is  simplified  by  the  fact  that  her 
people  have  not  yet  acquired  the  "tenement  habit."  Small 
houses  are  plentiful  and  land  abundant. 

Another  condition  to  the  credit  of  Plainfield,  is  the  small 
number  of  dwellings  with  dark  rooms.  To  this  must  be 
added  congratulations  that  the  Board  of  Health  can  and  has 
required  alterations  in  some  of  the  houses  marred  by  this 
form  of  construction.  Many  cities  which  have  few  window- 
less  rooms  have  rooms  which  are  gloomy  because  houses  are 
built  too  close  together.  Narrow,  dingy  spaces  between 
dwellings  are  rare  in  Plainfield,  adequate  courts  and  spaces 
and  yards  are  usual;  this  is  a  good  building  habit  which  should 
be  made  permanent  by  proper  housing  regulations. 

A  good  and  adequate  'water  supply  such  as  Plainfield  en- 
joys, is  a  potent  factor  for  good  living.  The  method  of 
charging  for  this  necessity,  which  does  not  penalize  its  plenti- 
ful use,  is  to  be  commended. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  for  the  control  of  the  tubercu- 
losis situation  in  the  city  of  Plainfield.  Co-operation  of  the 
Board  of  Health,  Anti-Tuberculosis  League  and  the  Visiting 
Nurse,  has  resulted  in  excellent  supervision  of  patients,  and 
careful  oversight  of  children  who  have  been  exposed  to  infec- 
tion. Bonnie  Burn  is  caring  for  many  of  the  patients,  a  care 
which  would  be  more  effective  if  the  patients  did  not  so  fre- 
quently return  too  soon,  and  to  bad  living  conditions.  Often 
only  a  serious  relapse  will  convince  such  people  that  a  pro- 
longed stay  at  the  sanatorium  is  absolutely  their  only  hope  for 
recovery. 

33 


RECOMMENDATIONS 

It  cannot  be  too  strongly  asserted  that  tenement  construc- 
tion menaces  Plainfield  with  all  its  attendant  evils  of  over- 
crowding, lack  of  family  privacy,  the  breaking  up  of  home  life 
and  the  train  of  vice  and  crime  that  follow  in  their  wake. 
Local  ordinances  strengthening  the  State  law  are  most  neces- 
sary. Local  support  for  the  State  law  and  to  improve  that 
law  are  demanded  for  the  good  of  the  city  and  the  State. 
Wider  courts  and  better  fire  protection  are  two  urgent  amend- 
ments needed  in  the  present  requirements.  Only  a  State  De- 
partment, adequately  equipped  with  men  and  money,  can  obtain 
the  best  results  in  those  outlying  districts  so  difficult  to  reach  by 
local  measures. 

The  problem  of  the  disposal  of  garbage,  ashes  and  rub- 
bish is  one  which  has  been  put  off  too  long.  The  situation  is 
serious  and  the  problem  calls  for  immediate  solution.  There 
is  no  alternative  to  city  collection  worthy  of  consideration.  In 
no  other  way  can  this  responsibility  be  adequately  met.  The 
city  has  shirked  the  issue  too  long.  Bad  habits  will  have  to 
be  made  over  and  a  civic  pride  aroused  before  the  city  can 
hope  to  present  a  clean,  well-groomed  appearance  to  the  world. 

The  extension  of  the  sewer  system  to  the  "West  End" 
and  the  immediate  installation  of  sewers  in  North  Plainfield 
cannot  be  too  strongly  urged.  It  is  encouraging  to  learn  that 
this  work  is  under  consideration.  Its  early  completion  is 
necessary  to  the  health  of  the  community.  Under  no  consid- 
eration should  tenements  or  two-family  houses  be  permitted 
on  unsewered  streets.  One-family  houses,  built  on  the  out- 
skirts, will  frequently  precede  the  extension  of  sewer  and 
water  pipes,  but  these  improvements  become  necessities  as 
soon  as  any  street  or  section  has»more  than  a  scattering  of 
dwellings. 

Certain  sanitary  provisions  should  be  made  a  part  of  a 
city  housing  code.  The  prohibition  of  cellar  and  yard  closets 
and  of  hopper  fixtures,  together  with  the  requirement  for  a 
separate  toilet  for  each  apartment  are  standards  below  which 
no  city  can  aim  with  impunity.  The  absolute  enforcement  of 
the  ordinance  requiring  windows  to  the  outer  air  is  called  for. 
Again  it  must  be  pointed  out  that  violations  of  this  ordinance 
are  more  likely  to  occur  in  apartments  in  "brick  blocks"  than 
in  detached  houses.  The  wording  of  the  ordinance  should  be 
changed  so  that  there  will  be  no  doubt  that  all  rooms  in  dwell- 
ings must  have  windows  opening  directly  to  street,  yard  or 
wide  court. 

34 


The  ordinance  prohibiting  the  use  for  sleeping  purposes 
of  a  cellar  room,  the  ceiling  of  which  is  less  than  two  feet 
above  the  curb,  is  far  too  lax.  Many  cities  much  more  con- 
gested and  overcrowded  than  Plainfield  prohibit  the  use  of 
cellar  rooms  for  dwelling  purposes  and  allow  the  use  of  base- 
ment rooms  (i.  e.,  rooms  one-half  or  more  above  the  curb) 
only  under  special  conditions.  Cellar  rooms  are  always  poorly 
lighted  and  ventilated,  and  usually  too  damp  for  dwelling  pur- 
poses. A  good  cellar  is  excellent  for  the  storage  of  fuel,  but 
for  wholesome  living,  rooms  entirely  above  the  ground,  well 
lighted  and  ventilated,  are  necessary. 


THE  "FRONT  DOOR"  AT  THE  REAR  OF  A  FRONT 
STREET  HOUSE.  ACCESS  IS  VIA  AN  ALLEY  AND 
UNLOVELY  YARD,  LITTERED  WITH  WASTE  PAPER, 
AND  AFTER  RAIN  OR  THAW  MUDDY  AND  WET. 

Certain  minor  streets  in  the  "West  End"  lend  themselves 
to  small  house  development  under  careful  supervision.  These 
streets  may  be  narrow,  but  the  houses  should  be  set  back  so 
as  to  give  40  feet  from  building  line  to  building  line.  Sewers 

35 


should  be  laid  as  soon  as  possible,  so  as  to  avoid  the  conditions 
found  in  Harmony  Street.  Small  lots  on  these  minor  streets 
should  furnish  opportunity  for  one-family  houses  which  could 
be  owned  or  rented  by  the  man  of  small  means. 

In  addition  to  these  recommendations  which  are  properly 
the  business  of  the  city,  there,  are  two  activities  which  might 
well  be  made  the  business  of  some  group  or  society.  One  is 
the  work  of  a  practical  visiting  housekeeper,  who  could  show 
the  newly-arrived  immigrant  our  ways.  A  woman  of  boundless 
tact  and  patience  would  be  needed  for  the  work.  The  other 
field  of  work  is  rather  different,  it  is  the  encouragement  of  gar- 
dens, small  ones  in  the  yards,  larger  ones  in  the  vacant  lots  and 
waste  places.  Such  gardens  add  to  the  quantity  and  quality 
of  the  food  used,  and  at  the  same  time  save  money  and  do 
away  with  the  bare  spots  and  unsightly  dumps,  which  mar  the 
appearance  of  so  many  of  our  cities. 


Recorder     Press, 
Plainfield.    N.    J. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
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DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


LD  21-100m-7,'40 (6936s) 


YC  26285 


393431 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


